Method of fabricating n-type and p-type microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material including band gap widening elements

A method of fabricating doped microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material which includes a band gap widening element, said method including the steps of:

• providing a deposition chamber;
• providing a substrate in said deposition chamber;
• vacuumizing said deposition chamber;
• providing a precursor mixture including a semiconductor-containing gas, a dopant-containing gas and a band gap widening element-containing gas;
• said mixture further including a diluent gas;
• coupling a source of a.c. energy into the interior of the deposition chamber;
• subjecting said precursor mixture to an a.c. glow discharge in the absence of a magnetic field of sufficient strength to induce electron cyclotron resonance, said magnetic field not caused solely by said a.c. initiated glow discharge;
• and
• depositing doped microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material, said material formed by a random network of relatively low conductvity, disordered regions surrounding highly ordered crystalline inclusions, said volume fraction of crystalline inclusions being sufficient to provide a relatively low resistance current path through the random network, whereby the material exhibits dark electrical conductivity of at least 0.5 ohm.sup.-1 cm.sup.-1 and a band gap of at least 1.9 eV.